Wash. Admin. Code § 388-450-0215 - How does the department estimate my assistance unit's income to determine my eligibility and benefits?
(1) We
decide if your assistance unit (AU) is eligible for benefits and calculate your
monthly benefits based on an estimate of your AU's gross monthly income and
expenses. This is known as prospective budgeting.
(2) We use your current, past, and future
circumstances for a representative estimate of your monthly income.
(3) We may need proof of your circumstances
to ensure our estimate is reasonable. This may include documents, statements
from other people, or other proof as explained in WAC
388-490-0005.
(4) We use one of two methods to estimate
income:
(a)
Anticipating monthly income
(AM): With this method, we base the estimate on the actual income we
expect your AU to receive in the month , as described in subsection (5) of this
section; or
(b)
Averaging
income (CA): With this method, we add the total income we expect your AU
to receive for a period of time and divide by the number of months in the
period , as described in subsection (6) of this section.
(5) Anticipating monthly income: We must use
the anticipating monthly method:
(a) When we
estimate income for anyone in your AU, if you or anyone in your AU receive
SSI-related medical benefits under chapter 182-512 WAC.
(b) When we must allocate income to someone
who is receiving SSI-related medical benefits under chapter 182-512
WAC.
(c) In the month of
application, when you are a destitute migrant or destitute seasonal farmworker
under WAC
388-406-0021. In this situation,
we must use anticipating monthly (AM) for all your AU's income.
(d) To budget SSI or Social Security benefits
even if we average other sources of income your AU
receives.
(6) Averaging
income: When we average your income, we consider changes we expect for your
AU's income. We determine a monthly amount of your income based on how often
you are paid:
(a) If you are paid weekly, we
multiply your expected income by 4.3;
(b) If you are paid every other week, we
multiply your expected income by 2.15;
(c) In most cases if you receive your income
other than weekly or every other week, we estimate your income over your
certification period by:
(i) Adding the total
income for representative period of time;
(ii) Dividing by the number of months in the
time frame; and
(iii) Using the
result as a monthly average.
(d) If you receive your yearly income over
less than a year because you are self-employed or work under a contract, we
average this income over the year unless you are:
(i) Paid on an hourly or piecework basis; or
(ii) A migrant or seasonal
farmworker under WAC
388-406-0021.
(7) We use the same method for each month in
your certification period, including the month of application, unless:
(a) A full month's income is not anticipated
in the month of application. In this situation, we budget your income in the
month of application using the anticipated monthly (AM) method and average your
income (CA) for the rest of the months in your certification.
(b) You are a destitute migrant or destitute
seasonal farmworker. We must budget your income in the month of application
using the anticipated monthly method, as required by subsection (5) of this
section. We may average your income for the rest of the months in your
certification period.
(8)
If you report a change in your AU's income, and we expect the change to last
through the end of the next month after you reported it, we update the estimate
of your AU's income based on this change.
(9) If your actual income is different than
the income we estimated, we don't make you repay an overpayment under chapter
388-410 WAC or increase your benefits unless you meet one of the following
conditions:
(a) You provided incomplete or
false information; or
(b) We made
an error in calculating your benefits.
Notes
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